Over The Garden Wall: Musings

So two days ago I was on the interwebs (as I usually am, no surprise there), and I happened across a thing. I wasn’t sure what this thing was so obviously I googled it, and it came up, no problem.

This thing was called Over the Garden Wall and I realized that this was probably a really, really big thing.

Over the Garden Wall is a miniseries that aired on Cartoon Network around three weeks ago and apparently gained a lot of attention from kids my age. Really though, I wasn’t surprised, because the show is made by someone who worked on Adventure Time, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told that I should watch Adventure Time (protip: it’s a lot). I haven’t gotten around to it yet, and really, I’m not sure it’s gonna be my thing.

But the other night while I was in desperate need for a break from writing (protip: I do a lot of writing), I decided to go ahead and watch the first episode since Cartoon Network so kindly put it on YouTube for me to enjoy.

The first thing I’ll say about it is that it’s dark. Like I probably wouldn’t show it to my kids dark. And it;s not necessarily anything plot wise, the show just gives off a creepy vibe. And I absolutely love it.

However I’m not sure how I feel about the show. It’s intriguing to be sure, and I’ll definitely finish it (I’m currently on episode 6 out of 10), but I’m really on the fence about it.

On the one hand, the animation is absolutely gorgeous, though I’d expect nothing less. The dark colors, deep plums and greens from the forest don’t mute the show but make it stunning, and the style is somewhat reminiscent of Gravity Falls and Adventure Time, but it’s still completely unique.

And the format is nice, the episodes being bite sized rather than full length. And I’m really enjoying the writing, it’s smart and at times witty and the characters are really unique, even the comic relief.

But still, in terms of liking it, I’m not sure. I’ll have to wait until I’ve seen the whole series until I can judge, but nonetheless it’s very well executed and it deserves a lot of praise. Smart programming for children (though, I’d argue, the target audience isn’t exactly children) is always something I enjoy and look forward to, so hearing about Over the Garden Wall was a nice breath of fresh air for me.